1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to nozzles of the type used with garden hoses. More particularly, it relates to a nozzle that can be rotated by the user with respect to the garden hose without causing kinking in the garden hose.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
It is well-known that garden hoses forms kinks when the user rotates the nozzle during ordinary use. A kink can cut off water flow. About the only way to remove a kink is to leave the hose as it is and to rotate the nozzle until the kink is gone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,954 to Cheramie discloses a swivel connector for nozzles and garden hoses. The swivel connector has an inner ring seal member in the form of a tube with first and second flanges extending from the opposite ends of the tube. The flanges are formed of a compressible and resilient material. The novel Cheramie structure further includes a first swivel member also of tubular construction having a groove formed in a first end that receives the first flange that extends from the inner ring seal member. A second end of the first swivel member engages the water-discharging end of a garden hose. A second swivel member of tubular construction also has a groove formed in a first end thereof that receives the second flange that extends from the inner ring seal member. The second end of the second swivel member engages a nozzle. A first sliding seal is formed between the first flange of the inner ring seal member and the groove formed in the first end of the first swivel member and a second sliding seal is formed between the second flange of the inner ring seal member and the groove formed in the second end of the second swivel member.
These siding seals can become worn with repeated use. Moreover, a tubular member having radially extending flanges that are resilient and compressible is not inexpensive to manufacture, nor are the two tubular swivel members having grooves formed in them to slidingly receive the resilient and compressible flanges.
A more robust construction that eschews the use of radially extending flanges and grooves for slideably receiving such flanges would represent progress in the art.
However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how a more robust structure could be provided.